


In Another's Eyes

by Aloneindarknes7



Series: A Tale of Two Brothers [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Bittersweet Ending, Brother Feels, Extremely Dubious Consent, Fontcest, Genocide Route, M/M, No Mercy Route, One-Sided Attraction, Sexual Content, Sibling Incest, Skeleton Ghost Penis, Triggers, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-11
Updated: 2016-02-07
Packaged: 2018-05-13 03:18:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5692561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aloneindarknes7/pseuds/Aloneindarknes7
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sans is in a relationship with his brother Papyrus. They're both incredibly happy together. Right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first chapter for my sequel to my fic Secrets. Sorry it took so long to get out. I had to re-write it a few times until I was happy with it, plus school started back up so I had to finish writing lesson plans and start teaching again.

Sans hated the word ‘monster.’ There were always negative connotations attached to that word. He remembered being on the surface and interacting with humans. He remembered how they used to sneer at him and others like him with such disgust. Humans told stories of defeating monsters even before the interspecies fighting started. If a story or movie had a monster in it, the monster was never the good guy.

He hated the word because it doesn’t fit how he sees his friends and family. None of the ‘monsters’ he knows are bad. His brother is especially far from being the typical definition. Papyrus reminded Sans of all the heroes in those same stories and movies. He even had the flowing cape and heroic poses.

It was one reason he loved his brother. But there were many reasons to love Papyrus and Sans wouldn’t know where to start if he began to list them. 

He had loved Papyrus ever since he first held his baby brother in his arms and looked into his smiling face. But that was an innocent love; the love of a big brother for his newborn sibling. 

Sans wasn’t sure when his love for Papyrus changed. He knew it was sometime after Papyrus had grown taller than him, but it’s been so long since Sans had to look down to talk to Papyrus. 

Even now, as he sat at his sentry position just outside of Snowdin, Sans smiled at the thought of his brother. The weather was cold, it always was in this area underground, but he felt filled with warmth as he thought about Papyrus.

It just seemed that he woke up one morning to wet sheets and dreams of Papyrus without much surprise. It came naturally to him to love his brother in that way. Sans knew that humans called loving a sibling romantically as incest. He also knew that humans thought incest as being wrong and bad. But his brother and he weren’t human so why should that affect them? Sans wondered if incest was bad in the same way that monsters were bad to humans. If it was, then he figured incest wasn’t really all that bad after all.

But Sans never saw any signs that Papyrus felt the same towards him. Papyrus didn’t show any signs of liking anyone that way. He didn’t have a sexual bone in his body. Sans kept his feelings to himself. It worked out well for them.

Then the humans started coming through. Things started to change for Sans. He started to remember things that didn’t happen yet or just wouldn’t happen at all. He started to work more in his secret laboratory. He began to notice somethings wrong with the timelines. Sans realized what was happening and there was no one to tell and no way to stop it. 

But that was okay because the humans were nice for the most part. 

Then things weren’t okay because Papyrus was dead. 

Then Papyrus was alive again but Undyne was dead.

Then they were both dead.

Then they were both alive but everyone else was dead.

Things kept spinning out of control but there was always so much time in between his memories of changing events. Sans had to live with the memories of his friends dying and his whole life falling apart. He had to live with memories of being on the surface again and being happy with Papyrus. He had to live with the constant fear of losing Papyrus again.

It was starting to affect his life and even his dreams. Nightmares had become a frequent occurrence. He thrashed, tossed, and turned so much during his sleep that his sheets were a permanent ball on his bed. His usual apathy towards work had sky rocketed. Why would he try to keep watch for the human when he knew what day the human arrived? Why should he put effort into a puzzle that would never be enough to stop the human? 

Even as he sat with the knowledge that no one new was going to pass him by on this day, Sans felt the stirring of those old dangerous thoughts. Normally when this mood began, Sans would succumb to his inner turmoil. But he didn’t want to focus on life’s negatives anymore. He knew there were better things to focus on. He also knew where to find those better things.

Leaving his station, Sans made his way towards Papyrus’ station. If anyone saw him walking, they might have noticed how light on his feet he was. He was practically floating on cloud nine towards his brother’s location.

A midday meeting with his brother was always the answer when he started feeling bad. After all, who could fight away the blues better than the Great Papyrus?

But even as he made his way, Sans knew that he never meant to tell Papyrus of his memories. He never meant to tell Papyrus of his fears. He never meant to tell Papyrus of his un-brotherly love. Sans thought achieving two out of the three wasn’t too bad.

Papyrus had woken him from a nightmare. Remembering the sight of Papyrus’ clothes among a pile of dusty snow and suddenly seeing Papyrus before him made Sans, understandably, emotional.

He had grabbed Papyrus in a hug and held him until his bones stopped rattling. He had whispered “I love you,” as Papyrus rubbed his back. Then he froze as he realized what he had said.

Papyrus pushed him away to meet his eyes and cupped his face when Sans refused to match his gaze. “Hey, Sans, look at me. I love you too.” Papyrus voice was so passionate and sincere. 

Sans was emotionally drained. He just wanted something nice and unexpected to happen again. He wanted life to be worth living once more. He had jumped at the opportunity. He confessed his feelings. He couldn’t even remember what he had said. He just remembered talking a lot because Papyrus had fallen uncharacteristically silent. He explained how he wanted to hold Papyrus’ hand and kiss him and he kept talking. He had to fill in the silence and he kept trying to find the right words to make Papyrus react because Papyrus’ silence had frightened him. 

He didn’t want to lose his brother again.

When he had finally finished explaining, Papyrus had slowly reached out and grabbed Sans’ hand. He held it in his own and, since he was without his mittens that morning, he laced their bones together. “You mean you love me like this?” Papyrus had watched Sans carefully as Sans nodded and squeezed his hand. Then Papyrus nodded back as though agreeing. And he had agreed. He proclaimed his own love in that manner for Sans and then they were hugging once more.

That afternoon they shared their first kiss. It had been awkward and Papyrus had been so worried about using his magic in such a way that they didn’t kiss again until the next week. 

But that was all months ago. They had done much more than just kiss since then.

Sans couldn’t remember being so happy. He honestly couldn’t remember doing any of this before with Papyrus. It was as though life had surprises again.

Even though the day was coming closer that the human would appear again, Sans couldn’t find it in himself to worry. He had hope once more. He found himself believing that the human would be good again this time around. 

And if not, well, he at least would remember to tell Papyrus of his feelings again in their next life. 

While he was still living through this life, he was determined to enjoy all the time he had with Papyrus. Even if it meant interrupting Papyrus’ training session to ensure there was more time together.

“Not that I don’t enjoy the show,” Sans drawled as he watched Papyrus work his bones in complicated patterns in the empty field. “But I was thinking we should go and get some lunch. After all, we don’t want to work ourselves down to the bone.”

“Sans!” Papyrus groaned as his bones fall to the ground. He looked over his shoulder and placed his hands on his hips. “It’s bad enough you left your post, but now you’re distracting me with terrible puns!”

Sans smiled as Papyrus started talking about the importance of their positions. He loved watching Papyrus speak about his goals. Papyrus was always motivating. 

“—and more importantly, I can’t slack off. Lazybones is your title and you can keep it.” Papyrus finished just as the wind picked up to blow his cape dramatically behind him.

“You can slack off a little, it won’t hurt. Besides, it’s probably my bad influence rubbing off on you.” Sans emphasized the last four words with a dirty wink and Papyrus’ face heated up. “I’m not asking for a nooner, just some spaghetti. It’ll keep me energized for the rest of the day.”

“Well,” Papyrus hesitated and Sans knew that meant he was going to give in to his request. “Alright, you do need the energy and my spaghetti is just the meal for that!”

Sans grabbed Papyrus’ hand as they walked towards Snowdin. He would let go once they got closer. There was no need for anyone to go thinking of him and his brother as some sort of monsters for their relationship. He didn’t want anything to ruin this day.

For now, he had everything he needed to keep him happy.


	2. Chapter 2

Papyrus was confident in everything he did except when he was in bed with Sans. When Sans had his brother stripped down it seemed he had stripped him of his confidence as well. 

The first time he had seen Papyrus so shy and nervous, Sans had instantly stopped. They redressed and cuddled instead. Sans apologized for pushing Papyrus past his limitations. Papyrus denied such a claim and boldly removed his shirt again. He spent the rest of the night wearing only his pants and a glow on his cheeks.

It took Sans awhile to become comfortable with Papyrus’ uncertainty in the bedroom. But Papyrus kept insisting he was fine so Sans continued. 

Now, Sans found it hot that his brave, assured brother could fall to pieces under his touch. Only Sans could witness the Great Papyrus turning into a squirming, blushing mess. 

Papyrus never knew what to do with his hands. He never knew how to touch Sans without some direction from him. He gripped the sheets, the pillow, and he even once held onto the play wheel on his race car bed while Sans licked his lumbar. 

When Sans sat on top of Papyrus, he’d sometimes reach out and lace their fingers together. Or if he was riding him, he’d place Papyrus’ hands on his hips. If he was blowing him, he’d direct those hands onto his shoulder or the back of his skull. Papyrus would grip him so tightly every time. It was as though Sans made Papyrus forget how to control his strength.

If Sans had skin, it would be covered in bruises from his brother’s strong grip. He’d wear them with pride.

Sex seemed to steal Papyrus’ figurative breath away too. All he could ever manage to say was Sans’ name or wordless cries. He’d moan loudly and the sounds would echo in their house without meaning. He had no long winded or wordy proclamations once they became tangled on the sheets. 

Sans imagined that Papyrus would become more confident during sex with practice. That he’d eventually feel brave enough to initiate something. They’d had a lot of practice but Papyrus still acted as innocent as their first time. Sans had shown him a lot of different ways to explore their intimacies but he never acted. Papyrus only reacted to what Sans would do. It was ironic that Sans was the one doing all the work in their sex life. 

“Come on, Papy,” Sans whispered as he took Papyrus’ hand and tugged him off of the couch. 

Papyrus hesitated just long enough to grab the remote and turn their television off. Then he allowed Sans to lead him up the stairs. 

“Your room?” Sans asked even as he stopped at Papyrus’ door.

“Of course,” Papyrus glanced down the hall towards Sans’ room. “I bet your bed still doesn’t have the sheets on it.”

“Why would I bother when I haven’t used my bed in months now?” Sans pushed open Papyrus’ door and kept his hold on Papyrus. He sat down on the edge of the racecar bed and pulled Papyrus down onto his lap. 

Papyrus could never meet Sans’ eyes when they were intimate. It was the one thing about Papyrus’ shyness that truly bothered Sans. He never mentioned it though. He didn’t want to make Papyrus feel bad. He just wanted to make his brother feel good.

“Papyrus,” Sans nuzzled Papyrus’ neck as his hands wrapped around his ribs, gently embracing him. Papyrus returned the hug easily. Sans always liked to start off with a hug. Papyrus loved hugs.

He started off slowly, just touching Papyrus over his clothes, running his fingers gently over the outlined bones. Then he slipped his fingers under Papyrus’ shirt. The first touch of bone on bone always made Papyrus shudder. 

“First one out of their shirt loses.” Sans challenged as he began to tug Papyrus’ shirt up.

“The Great Papyrus never loses!” Papyrus shook Sans’ hands off of him and attacked the hem of Sans’ sweatshirt and shirt. He lifted them both up and off in a single swift move. “There, I win!”

Sans leaned back on his hands to put himself out on display. “Yep, you win again, bro.” 

Papyrus’ eyes ran over Sans’ body and then he looked away with a glow starting on his face.

The thing about their dicks was that they came from their magic. Not only did that mean their pants would bulge, but also glow, making it only too obvious when they were aroused. 

Sans always became hard alarming fast when he was with Papyrus. 

“You know, Papy, you look good in your clothes, but I think they’d look even better on the floor.” Sans winked and Papyrus groaned.

“I’ve told you not to use terrible pickup lines on me. You don’t need to when we’re already lovers. Besides, they’re actually worse than your puns.” Papyrus grumbled even as he began to take off his boots and his shirt.

“Everyone needs a little pick up now and again.” Papyrus lightly tapped Sans on the head with his boot as he groaned. Sans chuckled and shifted, rubbing their groins together as he worked to undress as well. He slipped off his slippers and socks. The only thing left were their pants but Sans could work with that for now. 

He ran his hands slowly up the curve of Papyrus’ spine, making him gasp. Papyrus grabbed his own femurs instead of reaching for Sans. Conjuring up a tongue, Sans licked from the top of the sternum all the way down to the delicate bottom tip. He stopped to suckle on that spot, making Papyrus writher and shake his head while he moaned. 

Sans loved turning Papyrus into a moaning mess. 

After a few more moments giving that area attention, he moved on to trace all the way around the ribs with his tongue. He lapped and licked. He stopped to kiss and gently nibble. While he teased with his mouth, his fingers gently rubbed circles into Papyrus’ pelvis. Even when Papyrus’ own erection formed, Sans kept his touch away. He didn’t want to do too much too soon. They had all night and Sans wanted to make it a night to remember. He wanted them both to remember it. Please let them both remember.

“That’s right, Papy, let me hear you. Don’t hold anything back from me.” Sans shifted and patted the bed. Papyrus laid down without a word and instantly gripped the sheets. Sans removed his shorts but left on Papyrus’. It wasn’t hiding much, but he had other plans first.

He loved Papyrus’ floating ribs. He could suck them into his mouth and bob his head on them. They were thin enough that he could curl his tongue fully around them as well. That move always made Papyrus pound a hand into the mattress and scream.

Releasing his mouthful, Sans pressed a kiss up and over, up and over every rib until he reached the first rib. Then he pressed a kiss to the underside of Papyrus’ jaw. Then he licked under and around it. Taking his time, he lavished his love all around Papyrus’ face before finally locking lips with his brother.

When magic blended with other magic it was always, obviously, magical. Sans felt like his whole body was filled with electricity that was being passed back and forth between them. Kissing Papyrus was unexplainable. He had never felt so grounded or safe. When he kissed Papyrus, the world fell away. There was nothing but them. 

Just the two of them and their noisy lip smacking. Only the feeling of hard teeth and bones behind supernaturally created ecto-mouths mattered. He simply focused on the oddity that was a tongue and the way it could wiggle and slurp. 

When Sans pulled away, a string of glowing saliva kept him attached to Papyrus. He chuckled and wiped it away with the back of his hand. He liked the messes sex could create. He knew that Papyrus didn’t share that opinion. He practically rushed to the shower when they finished cuddling. 

Tapping his fingers over Papyrus’ arms, Sans slithered down his body. He kissed the large tent in Papyrus’ pants. “Hey, Papyrus, are you happy to see me or do you--”

“Don’t you dare make a pun about this!” Papyrus shouted. Sans froze. 

Papyrus sounded furious. Well, he was always angry about Sans’ puns, but it was a half-joking anger. But that outburst was true anger. That was pure rage coming from Papyrus. Papyrus rarely got pissed and if he did, it was never at Sans.

Sans and Papyrus stared at each other for a silent moment before Papyrus’ face scrunched up. “Papyrus?” Sans whispered, he was still rather startled by the sudden mood change.

Papyrus hands came up and covered his face. “Papy?” Sans was going from slightly concerned to overly worried in a matter of moments as he watched Papyrus curl up into himself. Neither of them were aroused now. 

“Papyrus, I’m sorry, I swear I won’t ever try to make a pun about sex again.” Papyrus’ shoulders shook and a single sob avoided being muffled against his hands. “Oh, Papyrus, please, I’m so sorry.” Sans wrapped himself around Papyrus’ back. This was about more than just a terrible pun.

He pressed kiss after kiss to the back of Papyrus’ skull, but his trembling was getting worst and his sobs louder. “Papyrus, come on, talk to me. What’s going on? Papyrus, please, I’m so sorry. Tell me what I did wrong. You know I never meant to hurt you. I swear I won’t do it again. Please, Papy, I only want to make you happy. Tell me what I can do, please.” Sans was begging and beginning to tear up as well. 

“I’m sorry, Sans!” Papyrus yelled from behind his hands. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about, Papyrus. You’re perfect. You’re alright. You did nothing wrong. Everything is going to be alright. We’re going to be okay.” Sans continued to pepper kisses over his brother. 

Papyrus muttered nonstop apologies. After a few moments, he stopped shaking and fell silent. Sans had pulled his shorts back on and pulled the covers up over both of them for an ounce of comfort. He was still pressing the occasional kiss to his brother’s bones. 

Eventually Papyrus rolled over onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. Sans reached down to lace their fingers together as his other hand laid protectively over Papyrus’ chest. He stared at Papyrus’ face. 

“What did I do to trigger that?” Sans asked with a hushed voice.

“I can’t do it, Sans.” Papyrus admitted after a moment. 

“That’s fine. Even the Great Papyrus isn’t expected to like everything. Just tell me what I did wrong and I won’t do it ever again, I promise. I never meant to upset you so much.” Sans squeezed Papyrus’ hand.

Papyrus closed his eyes and shook his head. “It’s not something you did, Sans, it’s everything you did. It’s everything I let you do. I can’t do it anymore.” 

“I’m,” Sans felt like he was standing in the middle of Snowdin during a storm. He couldn’t feel any heat from the blanket. He could barely feel Papyrus’ bones against his own. “What are you saying, Papyrus?” 

“I love you, Sans,” Papyrus told the ceiling. “As a brother and only as a brother.” 

“But you said you loved me more than that. We,” Sans could feel his pupils disappearing, leaving his eyes black and hollow. “We’ve been acting as more than brothers.”

“I know,” Papyrus whispered. Those quiet words echoed in Sans’ mind. They bounced around, getting louder and louder until they sounded like shouted accusations. “I don’t like it, I never liked it. But you were so happy, Sans.” 

“No,” Sans tugged himself away from Papyrus and sat up in bed. Papyrus finally looked at him but it didn’t make Sans feel better to see the brokenness he was feeling echoed on Papyrus’ face. “No, Papyrus, I never would have done any of this if you didn’t want it. I just want you to be happy, Papyrus.”

“I know, but I wanted you to be happy too. And you finally were but I, I’m sorry, Sans, but I just can’t do it anymore. It’s, I just feel so,” Papyrus cut himself off with a shudder as he brought his hands up to wrap comfortingly about himself.

Sans had never seen his brother look so miserable. He’d watch his brother get murdered and he never looked like that. What was even worse than seeing someone as mighty as Papyrus huddled into himself, was knowing that Sans was the one that made him feel that way.

Sans flew from the bed. He grabbed his clothes and quickly dressed. His mind was racing a mile a minute. His brother didn’t love him like he loved him. But he loved him enough to do anything to make him happy. But Sans’ happiness was making Papyrus miserable. He didn’t love Sans like a lover. But he let Sans make love to him. He didn’t want it, but he let Sans do it.

“Oh no, Papy,” Sans shuddered as his arms went through his sweatshirt’s sleeves. “I, I f-forced you.” He felt like he was going to throw up. “I raped you.”

“No!” Papyrus shouted and sat up. “No, it wasn’t rape! I let you do it! I consented!”

“But you didn’t want it!” Sans was shouting back and he still couldn’t look at Papyrus. “You didn’t want it but I did it anyways. If you didn’t want it, then it’s rape! I raped you. I raped my baby brother. I,” Sans never pretended to be brave like Papyrus. He knew he was a coward. 

When he couldn’t handle a situation, he avoided it. He wanted to escape this moment, so he did. He disappeared. 

He transported himself out of that room. He wasn’t sure where he was. But there wasn’t snow so it meant he was far away from Papyrus. But he couldn’t leave the truth behind in Snowdin as much as he wished he could.

Away from anyone and left alone with such a confession from Papyrus, Sans allowed himself to scream. He lashed out. He pulled out his gaster blasters and shot out in random direction. He yelled and threw bones and blasts. He screamed until he couldn’t feel anything. 

But he finally felt like a monster that the humans always thought him to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry. By the way, if you're expecting a happy ending, the most I can promise you is a bittersweet one at best. Feel free to yell at me in the comments or on my tumblr; http://aloneindarknes7.tumblr.com/


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was so difficult for me to write. I rewrote their dialect in three different ways and then picked and tweaked what I liked the best and blended it all together. Mind you, I had the time to do that these past two, unexpected snow days, so I probably wouldn't have updated until later on next week if it wasn't for all of this snow. 
> 
> Anyways, I'm sick of trying to rewrite this so it's probably not on the same level as the first two chapters. Sorry, but I'll make up for it with the next, and last, chapter. Let me know if there are any blatant mistakes.

Eventually he returned home. He wasn’t sure how long he had stayed away. Sans still wasn’t sure where he had even transported himself to. It was somewhere between Waterfall and Hotland. Admittedly, he had taken his time walking home and hadn’t minded when he got turned around or lost. It wasn’t like the underground world was very big. Not as big as the surface world where the humans lived.

When he did make it home, that was when he transported. He stood staring at the door before blinking into his bedroom. He still wasn’t brave enough to face Papyrus. 

What if Papyrus didn’t want to see him? What if Papyrus told him to leave? Or worse, what if Papyrus tried to make him feel better again? Sans couldn’t stand the thought of Papyrus denying his own feelings and safety for Sans’ sake. 

He laid on his bed, kicking the clump of sheets to the floor. Sans wanted to sink into his mattress and disappear. He wanted to fall into obliviousness and just stop feeling. It all seemed very familiar to the first time Sans had witnessed Papyrus dying. But this time it was worse because Papyrus wasn’t dead, but Sans had killed their brotherhood. It would have been a mercy if the world reset and Papyrus could forget everything that Sans had done to him.

As he fell into a stupor staring at the ceiling for countless hours, Sans realized that the house was quiet. Papyrus must have continued his usual schedule. Or maybe he moved into Undyne’s house permanently. Maybe he just left so he’d never have to face Sans again.

Sans wasn’t sure exactly what time it was or even what day. He had lost all sense of time. There were only his constant berating thoughts and the million what if situations running through his head.

He wanted ketchup. He wanted to drink enough ketchup that he could stop the thoughts. 

Slowly, Sans moved to the edge of his bed until his feet touched the floor. Even that seemed to take up all the energy he had left in his body. His body forgot how to function. Lethargically, Sans moved across his room. He didn’t even bother lifting his feet and taking real steps. All he could do was shuffle to the door. 

With his hand on the handle, he froze and listened once more. Nothing.

He turned the handle and opened the door. Papyrus was there. Not in front of his bedroom door, but standing in front of the front door. He was completely motionless, just staring at the door. He was dressed in his battle body and standing guard. 

Sans must have made some sort of noise or maybe just the movement of his door in their still home was enough, but something made Papyrus turn his head. Their eyes locked. “Sa--” 

Sans slammed the door shut and locked it. He took one shaky step back and then collapsed into a pile. His bones were rattling again as he curled into himself on the floor.

A gloved hand knocked on his door. “Sans, I’ve been waiting for nine days for you to come home. Please, we need to talk.” Sans flipped his hood up over his head. “Please, Sans, I’ve been so worried.”

He was the worst brother in the world. Of course he wasn’t finished ruining Papyrus’ life. Even just existing had to cause distress to Papyrus.

“Alright, Sans, I’m sorry it’s had to come to this.” 

Then his door exploded.

He didn’t see it. He was too busy closing his eyes and trying to make life stop to see anything. But he heard wood clattering around him. Papyrus wouldn’t let a door stand in his way if it came between him and his brother, which meant Papyrus was now in Sans’ room. That was far too much for Sans to handle.

He began to transport again when Papyrus grabbed him and pulled him against him. “I’ve got you now. I’ve got you and there’s no way you can make me let go.” Papyrus declared as he maneuvered Sans into a hug. “You’re not leaving me again, Sans.”

Sans knew that if he truly wanted Papyrus to let go, he could make him let go. He could use his magic against Papyrus and fling him across the room without doing him any harm and then disappear once more only to stay gone. But he loved his brother, so terribly much, that feeling Papyrus’ arms wrapped around him once more made him feel like he’d overflow with all his love in that second.

“No, Papyrus, please, I don’t, I can’t, I’m so sorry, Papyrus, please.” Sans didn’t even know how he could explain to his brother how terrible he was. He didn’t deserve Papyrus’ touch and care. He only deserved to collapse into despair. 

“It’s okay, everything will be okay, just stay with me, please don’t leave me again.” Papyrus began to shake and gripped Sans tighter. “Don’t leave again, please, don’t run away from me. I didn’t know when you’d be back, I didn’t know if you’d ever come back. Please, Sans, I can’t lose you, you’re all I have. I’m sorry I said anything, let’s just go back to how things were, we can--”

“No, no, Papyrus, no!” Sans struggled against Papyrus’ arms then. But Papyrus refused to release him. He wrapped his arms tighter around Sans and even brought up his legs to help cage Sans’ body in against his own. But Sans was satisfied with enough leeway that allowed him to lift his hands and frame Papyrus’ face. “No more sacrificing your happiness for mine! Not ever again.”

“How am I supposed to be happy knowing you’re miserable?” 

“Papyrus, I deserve to be miserable after what I did. I’m a--”

“No! That’s not true! You’re my brother, Sans, and I want you to be happy. You didn’t do anything wrong. You weren’t cruel to me, Sans; you never hurt me. I wasn’t true to you about my feelings, but it wasn’t terrible. Just, well, not what I enjoy. But that doesn’t matter now!” Papyrus quickly shouted and squeezed Sans again. “It’s in the past, and, well, we can just pretend it didn’t happen. We’ll move on. I’ll create new puzzles, you’ll tell terrible puns, I’ll work towards my goal of becoming a royal guard, and you’ll hardly work at all. Things will go back to being normal.” 

“But how can we?” Sans dropped his hands and lowered his head so that it was resting under Papyrus’ chin. “How can you still accept me as a brother after what I did to you?”

Sans expression must have given away his true feelings at that moment because Papyrus’ face crumpled for just an instant, one of those flitting emotions that were so quickly covered. “Oh, Sans, you didn’t do anything to me that I didn’t let you do. And I’m sorry that I wasn’t truthful at the start. If I had just been honest with you, then we wouldn’t be here now. But I just wanted to make you happy. But even if things go back to normal, I’ll know now that you won’t be happy. What will make you happy, Sans?”

Papyrus fell quiet for a moment as he stared at Sans, waiting for an answer. Sans refused to meet his gaze. “You mean, what else could make me happy besides you, since we now know that doesn’t work?” Sans forced out a weak, spiteful laugh. “I don’t know, Pap, it seems like only one of us can be happy at a time.”

“I won’t accept that!” Papyrus began to rub at Sans’ back through his sweatshirt. “There has to be some way that we can both be happy. I know that your feelings for me weren’t the only thing causing your unhappiness.”

Sans was silent, shame chocking off the words. He felt one of Papyrus’ hands move off his back. Fingertips gently traced down his face, guiding his chin up to look at Papyrus. “What other problem can we try to solve? What else hurts you so much?”

“There’s nothing else that you can control. Everything else is too big for us to fix, except,” Sans murmured and looked away before shaking his head. “No, I, I think that’s for the best this time.” Sans pupils had retreated and he let out a soft noise that sounded suspiciously like a choked sob.

“Sans, you’re worrying me again.” Papyrus watched Sans carefully.

Sans brought his hands up and wrapped them around Papyrus’ ribs. “I’m sorry, brother, but I know how to fix this problem between us. I’ll fix it and everything will be normal again.”

“What can I do to help?” Papyrus asked.

“You said I was gone for nine days?” Sans questioned.

“Yes.” Papyrus nodded.

Sans pressed Papyrus tighter to his own ribcage, “Then tomorrow, come to my sentry station after your morning patrol. I’ll have a surprise for you that will fix this mess and get things back to normal.”

“Really? It’s that simple? Wowie, Sans, that’s amazing! What’s the surprise?” Papyrus sounded excited and it made Sans smile.

“Don’t worry about that right now. For now, just, let’s just stay like this until morning. Please, just one last night in your arms.” Sans begged against Papyrus’ neck.

“Of course, Sans, anything you need.” Papyrus was quick to assure. “You know, I didn’t dislike everything we did together. Like the snuggling was nice and sharing my bed to sleep was fun. We could still do that if it’ll make you happier?” He suggested.

“Don’t worry, Papyrus, tomorrow our problems will be over.” For a long time they only held one another, as if touch alone could anchor them in place, in this moment where there was still a glimpse of light. They clung onto each other and willed for normalcy, for the balance between them to return, and for all wrongs to be righted. 

In the morning, the human came. 

Their problems were no longer relevant. They were just dust in the frigid wind.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out the [amazing commission I got from Ammazolie on Tumblr!](http://aloneindarknes7.tumblr.com/post/138770355467/ammazolie-another-commission-thanks-for-the) It goes along with chapter two! The colors are so amazing, I am in love with it!

There were no more problems between Sans and Papyrus. They were the best of brothers and nothing was wrong. 

Sans told terrible puns and was lazy every chance he got. Papyrus was extremely motivated but never seemed to succeed. Sans cheered his brother on and Papyrus picked Sans up for hugs. If Sans squeezed Papyrus a little tightly during those hugs, well, the taller brother never seemed to notice.

If Sans smiles seemed a little bigger than usual, it was just because he wanted to assure his brother that he was happy. He just wanted Papyrus to know that he was okay. Everything was fine and there was no reason for Papyrus to worry about him. He even went to work with a whistle and some energy in his step. 

“You sure have been working a lot of hours lately,” Papyrus commented. 

“Yeah, more hours working meant more break times.” Sans grinned. 

Papyrus crossed his arms over his chest as he continued to feed the pet rock. “I was going to say that I was actually proud of you for taking up the initiative to work harder, but now I see it was just another excuse to be even lazier.” 

“Of course,” Sans agreed and watched Papyrus go around the living room. He cleaned up everything except for the sock. He only stared at it and then made to look pointedly at Sans. 

Sans closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep. If he was asleep, then Papyrus would continue to clean their practically spotless home instead of talking to him. It was easier to have short, meaningless conversations with Papyrus.

That way there wasn’t a chance of anything being revealed.

Sans could play ignorant to one more thing. He could take on one more terrible nightmare. He had always kept secrets from Papyrus. What were a few more memories that never really happened?

If he could still remember the taste of Papyrus’ bones, if he could still remember the sounds of Papyrus’ moans, well, that just reminded Sans of the sins crawling on his back. 

Sans made sure that he never let his real feelings slip through. He was happy because that’s what Papyrus wanted. 

He wanted Papyrus to be happy. But Papyrus would only be happy knowing he was. So Sans made sure he was. He stopped having nightmares because he stopped sleeping in his bed. He slept at the sentry station. He slept on the couch. He slept at the hot dog stand. He slept on his stool at Grillby’s. But he never slept in his bed. 

“Sans!” Papyrus stomped his foot on the ground. “Why do you always sleep on the couch?”

“My bed isn’t made.” Sans’ shrugged.

“Then make your bed, you lazybones!” Papyrus grumbled as he moved to sit on the couch next to him. Sans scooted over to make room for him. Papyrus didn’t seem to notice that his brother moving from the middle to the other arm of the couch. “You don’t mind if I watch the latest MTT show, do you? I mean, if you’re really that tired, you could always just go sleep in my bed.”

Sans couldn’t stand the thought of being in a bed alone after having shared one with Papyrus’ warm bones wrapped around him. But if he was in Papyrus’ bed, then eventually he wouldn’t be alone in it. That was too dangerous though. He knew he could never be in a bed with Papyrus again. That was why he had started using Papyrus’ chair while reading him his bedtime story. It was better that way. It was the safest way.

“Nah, I’m good like this. You know me, I can sleep anywhere because of how bone tired I am.” Sans winked as Papyrus groaned. He chuckled and placed his head down against the arm of the couch. He closed his eyes and tried to fall back to sleep. 

It wasn’t easy to do knowing that Papyrus was close by. It was even harder to not cuddle up against Papyrus’ side or place his head in his brother’s lap. They had done that before. But Sans didn’t deserve the reminder of Papyrus’ hand stroking his back. He shouldn’t be allowed to feel the heat of Papyrus’ bones. He couldn’t give in to the temptation again. 

Halfway through the show, (Sans could tell due to Mettaton’s increased enthusiasm,) Papyrus shifted on the couch. 

“You lazy, little skeleton,” Papyrus whispered fondly as he rubbed a hand over Sans’ skull gently. Sans’ didn’t close his eyes tighter, didn’t tense, and didn’t stir in any manner. He kept his breathing steady and prevented any sort of response in his body.

He heard Papyrus swallow and Sans mentally panics that something is wrong before the incoming kiss lands on his cheek, just catching a corner of his mouth. It was a soft and lingering kiss but then Papyrus is moving to the other side of the couch as Mettaton makes a loud announcement on the television.

Sans didn’t respond. It took about ten minutes for his soul to stop pounding and settle to something normal. Then the show was over and Papyrus was turning off the television. There was a long moment of silence and Sans could feel Papyrus watching him. Eventually, Papyrus moved into the kitchen because Sans heard the clank of pots. 

Opening his eyes, Sans refused to think on what had just happened. It was nothing more than a brotherly sign of affection. It wasn’t safe to think of it being anything else. He had to act asleep until Papyrus was done with dinner and came to wake him up. 

He just had fake like nothing had happened. If he couldn’t, then he’d take a nice long walk after dinner until he could control his thoughts again. 

Lying on the couch, he continued to not think about his past lives.

He could bear one more lie. It was for the best, after all. Besides, he was much better at lying than Papyrus ever was. 

And what was one more secret between brothers?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This brings us to the end of my first Undertale story. If you're wondering, yes, Papyrus does happen to love Sans romantically in this reset. Why does Papyrus love Sans in some timelines and not in others? Because I like when my favorite characters suffer and making Sans pick the one wrong timeline to reveal his feelings, thus making sure that he never attempts to reveal them ever again even when they would be reciprocated, is the ultimate suffering!
> 
> I already have a new story being worked on. It does have more fontcest but it's also set in an alternate universe based off of Mafia life. If that's something that might interest you, feel free to check back on me here or you can follow me on Tumblr to get my updates there as well as a bunch of other Undertale related works.

**Author's Note:**

> Now I know a lot of people will be upset with me writing it so that Sans just let Papyrus be killed by the human, but let me explain. If the human was Frisk, Sans was going to beg for a reset. If the human was Chara, then Sans would let the course run it's path but when it got time to be the judgement hall, he wasn't going to fight and just let Chara kill him. Sans knew that the only way things could go back to being normal was for the timeline to reset, one way or another. Papyrus needed to forget everything.
> 
> The human was Chara this time.


End file.
